Supreme Court Accepts Case of a Transferred Cross
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide an establishment clause case involving a cross honoring service members who died and a congressional attempt to transfer the religious symbol to a private party.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars erected the cross on land that became part of a federal forest preserve. After a federal court ruled the cross violated the required separation of church and state, Congress passed a law transferring the parcel of land containing the cross to the VFW in exchange for a plot of land of similar value, according to the certioriari petition (PDF posted by SCOTUSblog).
One issue before the court is whether Congress has the power to avoid establishment clause problems by the transfer of the property, SCOTUSblog reports. A second issue is whether the former parks employee who brought the suit has standing to sue. The ex-employee claims he can sue because he continues to visit the park.
